Rutherford man indicted in hometown car-burglary spree

A Rutherford man has been indicted on charges that he went on a car-burglary spree earlier this year and broke into dozens of vehicles in the borough.

Samuel Chin, 20, also is charged with setting two vehicles on fire, completely destroying one of them and causing serious damage to the other.

Police said at the time of Chin’s arrest in May that he first went on a two-day spree in April, breaking into several parked cars on the west side of the borough. He then went on another two-day spree a few weeks later on the other side of town, they said.

Chin was arrested after police received a 911 call about a man acting suspiciously near a car in the early morning hours of May 16, 2012, police said. GPS devices and coins stolen from cars were found in his backpack, they said. After questioning him and doing more investigation, police said, they linked Chin to dozens of burglaries, two arsons and a stolen car that was later recovered.

Chin’s attorney, Vito Sciancalepore, declined to comment Thursday.

The 47-count indictment returned by a Bergen County grand jury last week and announced Thursday, charges Chin with two counts of arson, 40 counts of burglary, four counts of theft and one count of criminal attempt. The arson charges each carry a maximum 10 years in prison.

Chin was released without bail after his arrest, and will be arraigned in state Superior Court in Hackensack within the next six weeks.